When It's Time To Deliver The Clutch Play, Salisbury Turns To Borneman And Mcaloose Falcon Leaders:

June 10, 1986|by JACK LAPOS, The Morning Call

"They are our leaders; when it's time to get the job done they come through. Clutch situations are no problem to them because they produce under pressure. There is no question they are the heart and soul of this squad."

The words belong to Salisbury head coach Frank Yelinko, and the players he is talking about so eloquently are catcher Jim Borneman and second baseball Mike McAloose, a pair of senior co-captains who have played tremendous roles in the Falcons' advance into the PIAA Class AA baseball "Final Four" Thursday in Shippensburg.

Yelinko has good reason to praise this pair. Salisbury has compiled an impressive 21-3 record, nailing down the Colonial League and District 11 championships along the way; and Borneman and McAloose have been the players usually associated with rallies that pulled out victories while the team was building a 13-game winning streak.

Borneman stands 6-feet and weighs 185. He is leading the Falcons in home runs with eight while cruising along with a .385 batting average. He bats in the cleanup spot. And he has just been named the Colonial League's Most Valuable Player for 1986.

"I want to give thanks to the coaches who have helped me so much," Borneman said, saluting Yelinko and aides Mike Pochran, Frank Daddona and Dave Unger. "Coach Daddona also did a lot for me in American Legion ball last summer.

"I also want to show gratitude to Bobby Sopko, who helped when I was starting my baseball career at Salisbury." Sopko, now at West Chester University, was the first-string catcher when Borneman was still learning the ropes.

"I feel I have had a good season both offensively and defensively," Borneman said matter-of-factly. "I have learned a lot about handling pitchers and trying to prevent runners from advancing," he added.

Borneman, who played football in the fall, is heading for West Point, where he plans to play baseball. He said he is in good condition, thanks to steady exercise and weightlifting.

The Falcons' semifinal test in the PIAA tournament will be played at 10 a.m. on Shippensburg University's Grove Field, and the opponent will be Annville-Cleona (19-7), the No. 3 team from District 3.

Borneman admits he is a bit nervous, but confident that the Falcons will finish first. "Our goal was to make it to Shippensburg," Jim said. "Anything that follows, such as a state title, will be icing on the cake.

"Everybody on the team is looking forward to going toShippensburg," Borneman said. "After all, this is the biggest thing that has ever happened to us."

Borneman said he and McAloose are close friends as well as fellow players. "Mike and I have been traveling around together since 10th grade," he said. "When we get together with the other two seniors on the team - Scott Heppenheimer and Mark Patten - we jokingly are referred to as 'The Force.'

"As co-captains, Mike and I have a responsibility to keep the team together and I feel we have done just that. This is a great group of guys. Everybody is friendly. There are never any problems with players not getting along."

McAloose, the 5-11, 165-pound RBI leader on the club with 34, feels exactly the same about the Falcons' great camaraderie. "We play as a unit," McAloose said. "The coaching has been excellent. I have learned correct stances, how to pivot, how to release the ball and so on."

When McAloose came to Salisbury he was figuring on being a shortstop, but Yelinko already had talent at that position and decided to make a second baseman out of Mike. McAloose had been a second baseman in the Alton Park program and he got a chance in those days to play against Borneman, who was in Mountainville's program.

McAloose said it was Yelinko who helped him break a bad habit that was present in the early part of this season.

"I was pulling my head and popping up a lot," McAloose said. "Coach Yelinko told me to keep my head straight and take a level cut." McAloose takes a .414 batting average into the "Final Four."

"We feel confident we can win the state title," McAloose said. "However, we must play as well as we can and keep our concentration."

McAloose has not yet decided where he will attend college. Among the schools he has in mind are Old Dominion, Rutgers and South Carolina. "I have two more places to visit and then I will make up my mind," he pointed out.

He is hoping for a baseball scholarship. If that does not come along, he plans to be a walk-on at college, hoping to make the grade that way. McAloose is looking to a career in some scientific field, but he is not sure which one right now.

Oh, yes. Getting back to Coach Yelinko. Frank feels Borneman and McAloose were the two best players at their positions in the entire Colonial League this spring.

"No matter where Jim and Mike go from here they should be successful, not only as athletes but as solid citizens as well," the coach said. "They are good kids. Let's put it this way: If my two sons grow up to be like them, I will be highly satisfied."